


Dumb Luck

by Cabach



Series: A Bull in an Otter's China Shop [2]
Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Accidental Plot, Character Study, Charisma 10, F/F, F/M, Gen, I'm comin' for ur kneecaps Todd Howard, Intelligence 1, Luck 10, M/M, asexual biromantic character, so many commas ohmyGOD, use Raul's full name in his tag you COWARDS, vague spoilers for Sierra Madre, we be doin self indulgence in this quarantine season
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:34:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24203704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cabach/pseuds/Cabach
Summary: Charisma 10, Luck 10, Intelligence 1A collection of character studies and desperately optimistic, self indulgent fix-its. Each chapter is a stand alone unless stated otherwise.
Series: A Bull in an Otter's China Shop [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1754395
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. Overview: Children

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never underestimate the power of a mother's "I'm Disappointed in You" look

She went by her last name, de la Garza, or by “Courier”, “Six”, or any of the other nicknames she had amassed during her time in the Mojave. Her full name was Magdalena Luisa Isidora de la Garza, with soft 's's, but there were very little people who even _knew_ that, let alone referred to her by it.

When in conversation with someone who was particularly adamant about learning her "real name", de la Garza would level them with a disappointed stare and gently, politely remind them how rude they were being. If anyone else tried that, they'd no doubt end in a shootout, but de la Garza spoke in a way that would make even the roughest wastelander stumble over themselves in apology.

She was rarely angry, but de la Garza could straighten any misbehavior with only that single, disappointed look. Coupled with an abundance of praise after they corrected themselves, her methods were uncommon (especially in a place where the person with the bigger gun or better aim was the one to win arguments), but effective. Her praise made people feel important, and who could blame them? With a wide, high cheekboned, expressive face and soft, dark eyes, she melted hearts left and right with her gentle Spanish accent, sincerity, and willingness to help.

With all the influence she held over the wasteland, many people were afraid that she would use that influence for ill, but she liked to joke that she "wasn't clever enough to lead an insurrection." Coming from literally anyone else, that would have seemed a desperate attempt to evade suspicion, but it was _de la Garza_! She couldn't lie about herself to save her life! Sincere, hard working, and kind, the Courier was someone who cared more about the little people in the Mojave rather than furthering the agendas of House or the NCR. People _liked_ her. 

De la Garza was the kind of person who stopped to talk to children in the street, making sure that they knew that there was someone else in the world that was watching out for them. She had safehouses scattered throughout the Mojave to give them somewhere safe to go if they needed it. Proactively, de la Garza gently steered their futures away from addicts, raiders, hookers, and hopeless gamblers, using her numerous connections and favors to give the kids on the street a chance on a real future that didn't end with them dead in a ditch with either a needle in their arm or a bullet in their brain.

It was quite a sight, whenever she and her companions would come into a settlement, when one child saw her coming and dropped everything to run and greet her, letting the rest of the settlement know of her arrival with fond cries of " _Consuela_! _Consuela_!" (her favorite of all her amassed nicknames). It didn't take long for word to spread and for numerous children to swamp their beloved Consuela, all vying for her attention. She knew them all by name—a remarkable feat for someone who had difficulty adding two digit numbers--and made time for all of them, as patient and attentive to their excited speeches as she was when listening to the requests of the NCR ambassador... Actually, it was obvious she was even more so invested in her children's conversations, as she saw _them_ as the future of the Mojave, not the NCR.

After dismissing her kids with gentle threats that she would never act on (and honestly, it was proof of how far her kids had progressed, that they responded to her threats and heckles with laughter instead of fear and trembling), de la Graza and her companions would finally, after the hour-long tangent, get to the business that had brought them to town in the first place. 

Most of the towns the Courier had ever set foot in already adored her, but it was only a few that she deemed safe enough for her children. For all intents and purposes, they were _her_ children, as blood meant next to nothing in the Mojave and she loved them and prepared for them in ways their birth parents had not.

Goodsprings was the most notable of her sponsorships, and de la Garza’s favorite. It was unknown whether that was because it was there that she was pulled back from the brink of death and shown kindness and hospitality while she recovered, or if it was the location of the town--remote enough to be safe from most skirmishes but well placed enough to be lively--or even if de la Garza had a secret lover there and wanted to settle down with them and raise an entire gaggle of children. Everyone had their suspicions of course, but not enough evidence to actually prove any of them.

Under de la Garza’s careful instruction, and with her tremendous financial support, the ramshackle schoolhouse in the southwest of the town was rebuilt and re-established as a place for people to come to learn how to read beyond the numbers and letters on a deck of cards. The Courier herself still had problems reading English, and she wanted her children to have a better head start than she had. It only took a few gentle words, and Arcade's vote of confidence, for de la Garza to convince a few of the Followers of the Apocalypse to stay in Goodsprings more permanently and act as teachers.

The school grew insanely popular. Some of the people, who came with only the intention of learning how to read, stayed in Goodsprings once they saw how peaceful it was because of the Courier’s influence. She welcomed everyone with open arms and a smile that would keep you warm even in a nuclear winter.

It was during one of her visits, after the customary greeting from her gaggle of children, that Trudy--the unofficial, soon to be official, mayor of the town and owner of the Prospector Saloon--had confided that she was afraid that they were growing too sweet of a target for raiders or one of the other gangs to resist. De la Garza had given one of her signature smiles--leaning her head to the side, shrugging one shoulder and showing just a hint of teeth that were yellowed, though well cared for--and put a hand on her arm promising in her soft voice that she would take care of it.

Sure enough, whenever she passed through Goodsprings, the Courier made sure to make a short spectacle of her skills and connection. Her calloused hands, though gentle in their ministrations, and well used sniper rifle served as a reminder that even though she was kind, she would eradicate any danger to her family in the same way she had scattered the deathclaws in the quarry to the northeast: swiftly and without remorse.

She had casually mentioned her concerns about the town's safety (and thus her children's safety) over her regularly scheduled drinks with Eddie, the leader of the Powder Gangers in the recommissioned NCR Correctional Facility and a good friend of the Courier's. Without prompting on her side, he valiantly offered Powder Ganger forces to protect the town. 

She had thanked him earnestly, giving a soft, "Well, thank you very much," adding a teasing, "I might make an honest man of you yet." 

To which he had grumbled, thrown back his shot of the whiskey that de la Garza had been so kind to provide, and scoffed a, "Won't do it for free, de la Garza."

"I wouldn't expect anything less of you, _Pachuco_ ," she had replied, making his ears turn pink. She sipped her own drink, a single shot of whiskey carefully poured into a bottle of Sunset Sarsaparilla, and smiled.

Of course, it had taken some time to get used to Powder Gangers walking freely in the streets of Goodsprings--the incident between Ringo and Joe Cobb was not something that would fade from the townsfolks’ memory any time soon--but Eddie had given his word to de la Garza and any promise given to the Courier was not one that could be broken lightly, if at all. 

The Powder Gangers turned out to be an excellent choice for protection. They were a little rough around the edges, sure, but they knew their way around taking watches and patrolling borders. The Courier arranged homes for all of them, deeply aware how grating it had been on their tempers for them all to live so cramped in the NCRCF, and they managed to fit into the growing bustle of Goodsprings with barely a hitch.

The stretch of highway that had been under constant threat from the Powder Gangers’ raids was now one of the safest areas of I-15. After de la Garza cleared out the aforementioned deathclaws, she made sure that Goodsprings became a stop on Crimson Caravan routes. Goodsprings was growing, and she wanted to make sure that its growth was sustained with ample trade. 

De la Garza still had her regular drinks with Eddie, though now they took place in his office as head of security over Goodsprings instead of the dingy warden’s office in the prison. 

(He still kept the graffitied portrait of President Kimball, to de la Garza's delight.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen, I know I say I write these things for myself (and I do!) but also I'm a slut for attention and comments/feedback give me motivation to continue :))


	2. Overview: Nicknames

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tfw you've lived in New Mexico your whole life and know Latin better than Spanish because your high school had a hard on for "Classic" languages :'(  
> Translations in the end notes

Many of the people she frequently spent time with found themselves stuck with a nickname or two, sometimes in English, but more often in Spanish, to the point where her companions knew of very little people on an actual name basis, recognizing them mostly from the Courier's nicknames.

Someone smarter could have used that collection of nicknames to lead others astray, to speak in code, but de la Garza collected people with no ill will, her nicknames assigned out of fondness or (rarely) annoyance. Her companions bore the brunt of it, but none of them minded the affectionate terms she had for them. 

Arcade was " _Guero_ ", the 'g' sounding more like a 'w', a fond reference to his uncommonly pale blonde hair and fair skin. De la Garza was originally from El Morro, in north eastern New Mexico (a fact that she hadn’t disclosed to anyone in the Mojave), and hadn’t seen many people with light hair. It had been one of the things about him that had first caught her attention in the Mormon Fort. She also occasionally called him " _Betabel"_ , especially when they were traveling the Mojave together, a reminder of the time he had sunburnt his shoulders so badly they had turned purple and had spent the next four days nauseous with sun-sickness.

Raul was unique in that he had quite a few nicknames from the Courier. As the only other member of her close knit group who spoke Spanish fluently, they shared a special bond, often spending hours at the table after everyone else had finished their food and left, conversing in their heart language. _Sombremesa_ , they called it. 

She had accidentally called him " _Calaca_ " during supper one night, a blind remark on how he needed to eat more. Moments later, she looked absolutely mortified and covered her face in embarrassment. Raul thought that it was hilarious, and it took several minutes for him to stop laughing enough in order to translate for the others. _Calaca_ meant skeleton, and considering his condition as a ghoul, de la Garza was afraid she had offended him. She hadn't, and the name stuck. Among his other nicknames were " _Viejo_ ", which was self-explanatory given the ghoul's age, and " _El Guapo_ ", something that made Raul chuckle whenever she used it. He called her " _Jefecita"_ in turn.

De la Garza adored Cass’ full name of “Rose of Sharon Cassidy”. It was nice to be around someone with a name somewhat similar in length to her own but Cass refused to answer to it so the Courier shortened it to “ _Rosá_ ” (again with a soft 's'), an acceptable compromise for both women.

Veronica overheard once that she reminded de la Garza of her younger sister. No one knew what happened to the Courier’s sister, only that she and V had the same nickname, “ _Pollita_ ”, which was always said in an undeniably tender way. When she asked Raul what it meant, at first she wasn’t pleased with the answer of “little chicken”. The ghoul was quick to explain that it was used to describe something cute, and Veronica found that she kind of liked it. She didn't really have any family in the Brotherhood, not after Elijah and Christine left, and she spent a lot of time debating before finally calling de la Garza "H _ermana"_. The Courier had teared up, hugging Veronica tightly, while shakily, lovingly, letting her know that her pronunciation was terrible

Boone bore the sarcastic yet fond " _Chismoso_ ". He was always the receiver of a strange look whenever someone else overheard the nickname, as it was often used to refer to someone who enjoyed gossiping. He wasn't one for conversation, but didn't protest the nickname, so de la Garza knew he secretly liked it.

“ _Abuela_ ” naturally went to Lily, kind and grandmotherly even though her memories of her own grandchildren were rapidly fading. De la Garza was a benefactor to enough children for Lily to feel quite at home whenever they visited one of the Courier’s sponsored townsteads. The sight of the nightkin quickly became commonplace for de la Garza’s children and _Abuela_ was greeted with almost the same level of fervor as their Consuela.

De la Garza had her own collection of nicknames that people used for her, so many that it would take too much time and energy for her to list them all. The important thing was that she could recognize when she was being called, and respond to whatever they called her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, for those of you who doubt that sunburns can be purple, I've had them. Multiple times. They're not fun. You're in too much pain to sleep, but you're too tired to do anything other than lay there in agony. Room temperature aloe vera is so cold it burns. Wear sunscreen, kiddos.
> 
> Also! Translations:  
> Guero (wey-roh) – “pale, light skinned” (not considered an insult like “gringo”)  
> Betabel (bey-tah-bell) – “beet”  
> Sombremesa (sohm-brrrre-mey-sah) – it doesn’t translate well into English, but it’s the act of “sitting at the dinner table long after everyone else has left and just talking”  
> Calaca (kah-lah-kah) – “skeleton” (usually used to refer to someone who you think could gain a few pounds)  
> Viejo (byeh-hoh) – “old man”  
> El Guapo (el gwah-poh) – “handsome” (literally The Handsome. Where’s my Three Amigos fans at?)  
> Jefecita (heh-fey-see-tah) – literally translates as “little boss woman” but has the connotation of a woman in authority that you’re fond of  
> Rosa (rrrrroh-sah) – “rose”  
> Pollita (poh-yee-tah) – literally “little chicken” but as mentioned earlier, carries the connotation of something small and adorable  
> Hermana (ehr-mah-nah) – “sister” (for anyone wondering, V used a hard ‘h’ when referring to the Courier)  
> Chismoso (chi-smoh-so) – “gossipy, chatty”  
> Abuela (ah-bwey-lah) – “grandmother”


End file.
